Regulation of the temperature of superheated steam.



J. PRIMROSE.

REGULATION OF THE TEMPERATURE OF SUPERHEATED STEAM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1909. 1,003,792, Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

2 BHEETB-SHEBT 1.

tofe e dwaterline INVENTOR ([Pn'm rose,

T BYhz's J. PRIMROSE.

REGULATION OF THE TEMPERATURE OF SUPERHEATED STEAM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1909.

1,003,792. Patented Sept. 19,1911.

2 8HEETB-BHBBT 2.

' INVENTOR 8 LZPPZWIT'OSG,

ATT RNEYS 11 12, 1 f0! m1- UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN PRIMROSE, F DA NSVILLE, NEW 'YOBk.

REGULATION OF THE TEMPERATURE OF SUPERHEATED STEAM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. Application filed June 21, 1909 Serial No. 503,281.

To all whom it mag concern: I

Be it known that-I, JOHN PRIMRosn, a subject ofthe King of Great Britain, residing at Dansville, countyof Livingston, and

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Regulation of the Temperature of Superheated Steam, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In steam plants equipped with superheaters it is sometimes desirable to deliver steam to the point of utilization at a temperature considerably lowerthan the maximum, even in vaporizing the water,

the circulation of the water in a flooded as low as saturation. Heretofore the com mon'method for such pur ose has been to flood the superheater with water, sothat superheater is imperfect, making "the superheater inefiicient as a heating surface. Moreover, the flooding of the superheater ..makes it impossible or impracticable to de- 'liver the steam through. the outlet employed for the steam when superheated, thus making an additional steam outlet necessary,'

and requiring an additional valve-and more or less complicated piping from the two outlets in the steam main. I have therefore been led to devise my present invention,

which has for its chief objects to provide simple, efle'ctivaand withal thoroughly efli- Y cient means for supplying-saturated steam from a boiler provided with a superheater.

A: further object is to provide means whereby the steam can be deliveredto the point "ofutilization at practically any temperature desired, between the maximum and that of saturation.

Tothese and other ends the invention com s'ists in the novel features of construction, arrangements of parts, and combinatlons of elements, hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In devising my invention I have availed myself 5f the one advantageous feature of the prior method referred to, namely, utilis ing the surplus heat'to evaporate water,the I steam resulting from such evaporation being delivered to the steam main along with. that flowin through the'superheater from the boiler; ut I brin the steam. and water U 'into contact in a nove manner, whereby an. effective circulation in the superheaterxis maintained and the heatin superheater utilized most e ciently.

surface of the 4" r The gist of my invention resides in introducing water into the inlet header of the V superheater in the form of a spray. The re-.

sult is that the particles of water are carried by the currents of steam through the superheater and finally vaporized, without} material impairmentof the circulation therein, thus insuring complete evaporation of the water and proportionate reduction of temperature in the steam delivered from the superheater. Moreover, the super-heater thus becomes in efi'ecta part of the boiler,

in that steam is generated in the super} heater, so that-it amounts practically to an addition to the heating surface of the boiler. In consequence a boiler and superheater equipped with my invention can deliver more steam at saturation or any other. temperature below the maximum degree 2 of 'superheat than could the same boiler without the, supefrheater/ The efficient circulathatthe tendency'to deposit scale, from the water evaporated in the superheater, is much less than in the case where the circulation' of the water is slow or irregular. 1

tion maintained in'the superheater has 8-D.- 7 other and not unimportant advantage in I In the accompanying drawings I :have

illustrated what- I consider at thepresent time the best mode of applying my inven tion.

In the drawings, Figural is a side view of a boiler and superheater with the headers of the latter in section, showing the spraypipe for discharging-water into the superheater. Fig. 2 is a plan view with 'the boiler drums broken away to show the superheater, the headers of'the latter and a por-' tion of the superheating elements being in horizontal section to show the spray-pipe.

Fig. 3 is a detail view,'partly in section, of

a thermostatic system suitable for controlling the supply of water to the superheater.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of .the superheater, taken longitudinally of a pair of superheating tubes or elements.

My invention may be applied to any steam generator, and in the drawings I have illustrated it as applied'to a generator of a wellknown water-tube type. 1

4 The drums of the generator or boiler are "designated by '1,'-2,-;and below the same isthe superheater, which may be of'anyconvenient and suitable type. That hereinillustrated comprises an inlet header 3 connected to lower superheatingtubes 4, and an outlet header 5 connected to --upper superheating tubes 6, said tubes" being themselves com nected by return headers 7'. The inlet header is connected totheboilerdrums by steamsupply pipesl8, and the outlet header is connected to the steam line by delivery pipes 9. Inside the inlet header and extending lengthwise thereof is a spray-pipe 10, having a series of lateral spraying apertures'll each so located'as to discharge-into a superheating tube, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:. This spray-pipe is connected by a tube 12 to .the feed-water line or any other suitable source of water under suflicient head or pressure to cause -the water to be-discharged from the aperturesll in the form 0f fine spray, saidtube 12 having a handing the temperature at which said devices operate. At this point it may be stated that in general any suitable thermostatic system may be employed, the invention not being limited to that specifically illustrated. A thermometer-may also be provided to indicate the temperature of the steam leaving the superheater and may be located at any convenient point. In the present instance the. thermometer 18 is associated with the union 17 so as to indicate the temperature of the steam thereat.

From the foregoing the operation of the inventionwill be readily understood. When steamat'the maximum degree of superheat is desired the Valve' 13 is closed and no Water is admitted to the superheater. For a temperature below the maximum the valve 13 is opened and the thermostat, set at the temperature desired, thereafter operates to admit the amount of waternecessary to keep the temperature constant between certain limits determined by the sensitiveness of the thermostat. The water being injected in the form of spray directly into the superheating tubes the minute particles of water are carried along by the currents of steam and are vaporized quickly without materially impeding the flow of steam as-would bethe case if the water were introduced by flooding the superheater. The result is a thoroughly eflicient utilization of the heat taken by the superheater from the furnacegases,v the excess of heat above the degree of superheat desired being expended in evaporating the water and hence increasing the quantity of steam delivered to the steam line. The superheater is thus in effect a part of the boiler-heating surface at all times when Water is being delivered to the superheater.

As previously stated, the invention is notlimited to the construction herein specifically shown and described but may be embodied in various other forms without departure from its proper spirit and scope as defined by the appended c aims.

What'I claim is:-

' 1. In means for regulating the temperature of superheated steam, the combination with a superheater having an inlet header for receiving steam from a boiler and havmg a plurality of superheating tubes extending laterally from the said header; of a spray-pipe inside the header and arranged 'to direct a spray of water into each of the said superheating tubes; as set forth.

2.' In means for regulatin the temperature of superheated steam, te combination with a superheater having an inlet header;

each of the superheat-ing. tubes connected with said header; as set forth.

3. In means for regulating the temperature of superheated steam, the combination with a superheater having an inlet header; of means for spraying water directly into each of the superheating pipes connectedof means for spraying Water directly into 5. In means for regulating the temperaextending section and adapted to introduce ture of super-heated steam, 1n combination water directly into each section. 10 a superheater com rising a common header In testimony whereof I afiix my signature and a plurality o laterally extending secin the presence of two subscribin witnesses. tions connected to said header, 0. s ray pipe 7 JOHN PR1 ROSE. extending into said header and ongitudi- Witnesses: nally thereof, and lateral nozzle openin s F. P. MAGEE, insaid pipe one in line with each laterally F. FIELDER. 

